Nigeria’s Engagement With The Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review: Potential For Acculturation Or Risk Of Regression?

This article examines the effectiveness of Nigeria’s engagement with the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review Mechanism (UPR). After two cycles of the UPR, questions on the impact of the UPR process on the ground is gaining increasing attention and there is now a growing focus on state implementation of UPR recommendations. This article engages with this issue in the context of Nigeria. It analyses the extent of Nigeria’s engagement with the UPR mechanism and considers the potential for acculturation. Given the threat of terrorism which continues to confront Nigeria, this article examines the extent to which the Nigerian government’s fight against terrorism has impacted on its engagement with the UPR mechanism